


Keep You Safe

by hockeyallthehockey



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Actual Players Portrayed As The Bad Guy(tm), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hockey Injuries, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-28
Updated: 2018-02-28
Packaged: 2019-03-25 07:42:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13829604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hockeyallthehockey/pseuds/hockeyallthehockey
Summary: During his rookie year with the Pens, Sidney Crosby disappears after yet another injury. He re-emerges in Russia, playing with Metallurg Magnitogorsk. Geno never comes to the USA to play with the Pens. Together, in Russia, he and Sid take the world hockey scene by storm.(No, really, I still suck at summaries. I can’t help it.)





	Keep You Safe

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: “I’m going to keep you safe” + recovery
> 
> The notes at the bottom give a little bit of background info about this AU.
> 
> This story contains references to extreme homophobia, injuries inflicted because of homophobia, actual players portrayed as The Bad Guy, and of course, actual players portrayed as homosexual. If any of these things will bother you, this is not the story for you.
> 
> Dialog is being spoken in Russian unless otherwise indicated; <<words like this>> are being spoken in English.
> 
> What are timelines? For the sake of my own storytelling (and sanity), I’m assuming that websites such as NHL.com and Sportsnet and MSNBC exist more or less as we know them today. Also, Niskanen plays for the Pens in Sid’s rookie year, because - again - what are timelines?

**Sportsnet.com Headline:** Crosby Out with Another Concussion, Dislocated Right Shoulder, After Cross-check from Team-mate Niskanen

_ Three weeks later… _

**Sportsnet.com Headline:** Crosby Released from Pittsburgh Hospital, Returns to Canada, Disappears from Halifax Airport

**MSNBC Headline:** Where in the World is Sidney Crosby?

**NHL.com Headline:** Penguins GM Rutherford on Crosby: “We don’t know where he is. He disappeared from the airport in Halifax. Maybe the NHL was too much for him to handle.”   
  
\----

“I still don’t understand how anyone could… his own  _ team-mate _ , mama!”

Evgeni Malkin, Alternate Captain and star center for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, was one of the faces of the KHL. He was also, currently, hosting Canadian and former-NHL star Sidney Crosby while Crosby recovered from his second concussion in three months, a dislocated shoulder, the list went on. North America was not a good place to be openly gay. In the NHL, it was outright dangerous, and the danger often came from one’s own team.

Natalia touched a hand to her son’s arm. “There are awful people in the world, Zhenechka, you know this. He’ll recover here, and we’ll take good care of him, yes? You’ll make wonderful team-mates, and he’ll be happy.

Zhenya hoped she was right. When Crosby had arrived a week earlier, Zhenya had been amazed that the younger man was even  _ walking _ . Gennady had brought him to the house with his backpack and a small carry on with a couple of changes of clothes, four bottles of meds, and a detailed list of instructions from the Russian doctors who had seen to him on his arrival in Magnitogorsk.

He hadn’t been able to keep down solid food. His eyes were too light sensitive for anything more than a soft-bulbed lamp in his room. His shoulder was a mess, having been improperly reduced in Pittsburgh and corrected in Magnitogorsk. He spoke almost no Russian, and Zhenya and his parents spoke almost no English. It had been difficult, at first. It was still difficult, but Sidney - Sidka - was picking up bits and pieces of Russian, Zhenya and his parents had learned a few words of English, and Sidka had charmed his way into their family literally without trying.

Dezhnova, the team doctor, had been stopping by every few days to check on Sidney. Today’s visit was running a bit longer than previous visits, and there had been a few audible sounds of pain from the guest suite upstairs. Mama had twice had to stop Zhenya from tearing up the stairs to see what was wrong, telling him that Dezhnova would call for help if any was needed.

Zhenya wasn’t buying it, but he stayed in the kitchen and helped his mother prepare the ingredients for borscht. Having something to do with his hands, at least, helped him stay put.

When Dezhya finally came downstairs, only Mama’s stern expression kept Zhenya from demanding to know what she had done to hurt Sidka. He couldn’t school his expression, though, and Dezhya arched an eyebrow at him before smiling in understanding.

“You know that injury recovery is often painful, Zhenya,” she said, as she gratefully accepted a cup of tea from Natalia and took a seat at the kitchen table. “His shoulder is healing nicely, and we began a few stretching exercises today. That is why you heard him making unhappy noises.” She held up a hand at Zhenya’s unhappy scowl. “I offered to let him stop, and he chose to keep going. He’s very determined to recover, and we’ll have to be sure he doesn’t push himself too fast. But I’m very pleased with his progress.”

Dezhya asked a few questions about Sidney’s daily routines - had his sleep schedule remained consistent (mostly), was he handling solid foods better (yes), processing bodily waste all right (yes), the same questions she asked with each visit. “I want him to begin moving around more,” she told Zhenya and Natalia. “Walking more, even if it’s just up and down the hallway. Coming downstairs to eat. He can sit at the table just fine, but I don’t want him making the trip up or down on his own just yet. Vertigo will still be a problem.”

“We’ll set a place for him for supper tonight,” Natalia assured her. “Borscht is easy for him to eat, and we’re having breaded chicken. I can make a plain piece for him, if you don’t want him to have spices.”

Zhenya made a face - plain chicken was, well,  _ plain _ \- but nodded. “And I’ll help him down the stairs. He’s been asking if he can read. I got him some Russian language books, school books for learning Russian.”

“Let him try the chicken the way you make it, Natalia. He may tolerate the spices all right. And chicken is good for him, good protein. Reading may make his headaches worse, but he can certainly try. If it bothers his eyes or makes the pain worse, take the books away. He’ll keep pushing himself, even if it makes him feel worse. Like someone  _ else _ I know.”

Natalia laughed softly as Zhenya put on his best ‘who, me?’ expression, angelic and completely transparent. Dezhya shook her head with a smile, and set down her empty teacup. “Thank you for the tea, Natalia. You’re comfortable caring for Sidka on your own while the team is in Riga? Excellent. Zhenya, I will see you at the airfield tomorrow. At eight o’clock, not eight thirty!” She stood, and hugged Natalia, kissing both cheeks. “And with your carry on. If you forget it at home again, Coach will not hold the plane for you.”

Once she was gone, Zhenya hesitated at the bottom of the stairs. Mama still needed help with supper, but…

“Oh, for goodness sake, Zhenya, go check on him. I can make borscht without you mangling the cabbage.” Natalia shooed him upstairs, and then retreated back into the kitchen. Supper wasn’t going to make itself.

\----

Zhenya poked his head into Sidka’s room carefully, not wanting to wake him if he was napping. And then he frowned, stepping into the room when he saw that it was empty. “Sidka? Sidka, where are you?”

“Here,” came the reply, from the washroom two doors down the hall. “Sorry. I come back.”

Zhenya stepped out into the hallway again to see Sidney making his way carefully back. The sling he’d been using when up and about was notably absent, and while he wasn’t swinging his right arm, he also wasn’t hunched up in pain. “There you are.” Zhenya smiled easily, trying to push away his worry. “Are you supposed to be up without the sling?” He knew Sid wouldn’t understand all of that, so he gestured to Sid’s shoulder, and raised his eyebrows in question.

Sid waggled his left hand a little. “Need sometimes. Dezhya say is okay.” He looked better, so much better than a week ago, colour back in his cheeks, the dark circles under his eyes finally starting to disappear. “She say I eat supper. Uh… down…” He frowned, hunting for the right word. “Down. Table.”

Zhenya grinned and stepped out of the way to let Sidka back into his room. “Downstairs?” he prompted, and nodded when Sid repeated the word. “Yeah, she told us, too. Mama is making borscht, and chicken.”

Sid returned the grin with his own. “I like borscht.” He did, it was one of the first things that Mama had made when Sid was off liquids only, and Sid had taken a liking to it right away. “What is ‘chicken’?”

Zhenya blinked, then frowned, because he didn’t know the word in English. So instead, he tucked his hands into his armpits like wings, and made a clucking sound.

Sid stared at him for a moment, and then  _ giggled _ , the adorkable honking laugh that Zhenya had only heard once since his arrival. Zhenya couldn’t help snickering, too, before he repeated the word. “Chicken. How do you say it in English?”

“<<Chicken,>>” Sid told him, and then repeated the word in Russian again, several times, as he usually did to try to cement a new word into his mental lexicon. And then he giggled again, as he made his way back to bed and sat carefully, tucking one leg up. “I can have chicken, too?”

Zhenya nodded, then shrugged. “Dezhya said so, yeah. I think Mama’s making a plain piece for you, but Dezhya said you can try it the way Mama’s making it for the rest of us, too, breaded and baked.”

Sid cocked his head. “I don’t understand. But is okay, will see at supper.”

Zhenya dipped his chin a little, apologetic. “Sorry,” he said, speaking more slowly. “You’re picking things up so fast, I keep forgetting you don’t understand most of what I say. Uh. Dezhya said you can read, but only if it doesn’t hurt your head.”

Sidney perked up at that, grinning again. “I can read? Need read Russian books. Need speak Russian, or not understand coach.”

Zhenya grinned back. “Yeah, you can read, as long as it doesn’t make your head hurt.” He tapped his temple and then shook his head. “No headaches. <<Okay?>>”

Sid nodded - carefully, because he was all too aware of how easily he got headaches - and kept grinning. “<<Okay. Definitely okay.>> Thank you, Zhenya.”

Zhenya  just nodded, too, and then jerked his thumb towards Sid’s desk. “Come on, let’s read for a while. Papa isn’t home yet, and supper won’t be for a couple of hours.”

Sidney pushed to his feet - carefully, again, because vertigo was also very much still a concern - and padded over to the desk. Being able to read, to study, was fantastic. Getting help from a native speaker was even better. And two hours until supper was a lot of study time.

**Author's Note:**

> In this AU, homophobia is openly tolerated, if not outright encouraged, in America. Canada is somewhat better, but Hockey™, particularly the NHL, is not a safe place to be out and proud. Sid has been the target of on-ice aggression since he was very young, because he’s so damn good. It got even worse in the Q after he was outed, and he’s been targeted very openly and visibly in the NHL. Russia cares more about winning than sexual orientation, so while they’re not exactly great about it, they at least don’t allow players to be targeted for being gay.
> 
> Come yell about hockey with me on tumblr at [hockeyallthehockey](http://hockeyallthehockey.tumblr.com)


End file.
